week. when will it cool down? shelly speaks. george zimmerman's wife in court speaking out saying her husband has beaten down her self-esteem and why she fears for her life. >> your "new >> your "new day" starts now. good morning, welcome to "new day." i am proud to announce it is thursday, august 29th, 6:00 in the east. the president is calling for action against syria. el face questions about the end game strategy, the chance a quick strike leads to an all-out war and more. we'll talk to senator tim caine of virginia for more answers. are you yawning and reaching for the coffee? a new sleep study is out from the cdc, shows how poorly americans are sleeping. prescription drug use to help with sleep on the rise.

why are so many people having such a hard time sleeping and what can you do to get a better night's rest? i myself will be learning something in this. >> that's a big topic around this office. i will tell you. also, it is back to school time. kids hate it. check out mom, couldn't be happier, we are celebratory dance apparently an annual tradition is going viral. her kids, eh, not so thrilled about it. >> i like the shuffle step, approval over the twerk. big news this morning, let's get to it, the big decision on syria. president obama says the syrian government attacked its own people with chemical weapons. the president heads to congress to make the case as the u.s. seems to be ramping up, however, one of its key allies, britain is slowing things down. the question is what zp they find?

we begin with barbara star at the pebt gone. >> good morning, chris. britain and washington will be releasing details on what it has about assad killing his own people. president obama says he hasn't decided what to do but is determined to hold syria accountable. >> we want the assad regime to understand that, by using chemical weapons on a large scale against your own people, against women, against infants, against children, that you are not only breaking international norms and standards of decency, but you're also creating situation where u.s. national interests are affected and that needs to stop. >> reporter: the president left no doubt who ordered the chemical weapons atacks. >> we've concluded the syrian government in fact carried these

out. >> reporter: among the evidence intercepts of syrian commanders discussing the movement of chemical weapons to the area of the attack, provided by israeli intelligence. the potential next step, cruise missile strikes has put the u.s. at direct odds with russia >> we do not believe that the syrian regime should be able to hide behind the fact that the russians continue to block action on syria at the u.n. >> reporter: but behind the scenes officials are signaling the u.s. may not wait for the united nations to act. the u.s. military is strengthening its position in the eastern mediterranean with the addition of two more submarines and the syrian regime is also getting ready. >> we are in a state of war preparing ourselves for the worst scenario. >> reporter: why did the assad regime undertake the chemical attack? one theory discussed is it might have been retaliation for a failed assassination attempt

against assad earlier this month, or it might have been a planned smaller attack and something went wrong. kate? >> barbara starr at the pentagon starting us off this morning, thanks so much. syria's ambassador to the u.n. we know says his country is preparing for war. cnn's fred pleitgen was the only network correspondent reporting from inside syria, he was there until just a couple hours ago and joins us now from beirut. fred, what can you tell us this morning? >> reporter: apparently the syrian military is emptying out some of its main buildings, for instance the headquarters of the air force and the headquarters of the army, that's according to media reports. it's difficult to verify that. the other thing that appears to be happening, they appear to be moving some of the artillery pieces out in the mountains around damascus used to shell rebel positions in the past, all of this out of fear of u.s. air

strikes. now the u.n. inspectors are on the ground again today, they're in the eastern suburbs of damascus looking for additional evidence of chemical use. we managed to get exclusive video from the area that was the hardest hit in that alleged chemical attack, called zamalka where apparently up to 400 people died. there was a mass grave there, a lot of dead bodies that haven't been identified and miraculous tales of one man who made a gas mask out of some cup, cotton and coal and says he survived because it held off the gas just enough. coming out of dmaps cuss the people are worried about what the next hours and days could bring. chris? >> fred, thank you very much. stay safe there. now to all of you if it seems this is all moving quickly that's because it is. however now some members of congress are saying not so fast. let's go live to cnn's athena jones on capitol hill. what is the latest from there? >> good morning, chris. the chief concern on capitol

hill is members of congress won't be sufficiently consulted before president obama gives an order for some sort of military action against syria. you have republican senator john mccain who said they want to see a robust response to these attacks. at the same time, 116 members of congress, most of them republican but also 16 democrats have now signed on to a letter urging the president to consult and receive authorization before taking any sort of action. house speaker john boehner called for the president and congress for why this would serve u.s. interests. some gop senators have said they believe the war powers act allows the president to order limited missile strikes and then report to congress afterward. nevertheless the white house says the views of congress are important and the white house plans to brief congressional

leadership as well as the chairs and ranking members of the national security committees today via conference call. kate? >> athena, we'll see if the administration is successful in allaying some of the concerns today, from capitol hill, thanks so much. if the u.s. attacks syria you might feel some retaliation at your own computer. experts say there would be more cyber attacks loyal to the assad regime. deborah feyerick has more. what happened here, talking about the "new york times" of course. >> and we're also talking about the syrian electronic army, a group that's claimed responsibility for a number of cyber attacks. the hacker did not go in the front door and hit "the times" directly. essentially they went in through a window targeting the supply train specifically the company's domain name registrar. the way they were able to gain

access was simple. it was through a targeted phishing attack. someone actually tricked someone into providing user name and password so anyone who wanted to gain access was blocked from doing so. this is what's known in the cyber world is a denial of service attack. it was a different way to get in rather than attacking ft. knox, you go into the loans. >> was any secure information accessed when they were able to get in there? >> no, this is something the new york times was clear to say it wasn't the integrity of the website compromised, it was people's ability to get to the site that was compromised. service is being restored slowly. other news sites have been targeted including "the washington post" and here at cnn, again, cnn they told us we asked, they said no, it wasn't the site that was compromised, just people's ability shortly to get there. >> scary enough. deb thanks so much for the update. coming up in our next hour we'll talk with senator tim cain

about the situation in syria, he's one of the critics saying congress should have a say before the u.s. takes action. we'll get his thoughts on the developing situation coming up. a death sentence for the man admitted to a deadly attack at ft. hood, that is the recommendation of a military jury after convicting nadal hasan for killing 13 and wounding 32 in the brutal massacre in 2009. hasan could become the first military execution in more than 50 years. ed lavandera is in killeen, texas, with the latest. >> reporter: families struggled with the fact they knew that nadal hasan wanted him to get the death sentence. the islamic radical army

psychiatrist might see the death penalty as a twisted path to martyrdom but prosecutors say hasan will never be a martyr because he has nothing to give. >> the best thing forthat man is to be forgotten. >> reporter: they sat through nearly four weeks of excruciating testimony hearing the gruesome details how cahill, a retired army veteran, came within a few feet of stopping hasan with a chair. he was shot six times, the fatal shot pierced his neck. >> today's sentencing does not bring my father home, his laughter to our ears and his smile to our eyes. >> reporter: hasan will be transferred to ft. leavenworth, kansas, his case will wind its way through the appeals process. the president must sign off on hasan's execution and that could take years. there hasn't been a military execution since is the 61 but

some legal experts say the brutality of hasan's crimes will change that. >> if it doesn't make sense to use it here, when does it? i think that president is going to have a hard time not signing that death warrant in this case and i think major hasan may very well be the first military defendant in a long time to be put to death. >> and one of the things that i was struck by was all of these families affected by the ft. hood massacre have really spread out all across the country from new mexico, wisconsin, alabama, and some family members say this is really the first time that they'd all been together, gotten to know each other and really understood the depth of the sadness and the struggles that they've dealt with during the last four years. kate? >> hopefully they can bring comfort oto each other. ed lavandera thank you. we're facing a brutal heat wave sitting over the midwest. what does that mean, more

schools closing down. indra petersons has more. >> so hard to believe we're still talking about this. it's been all week long, temperatures in the 90s and feeling like they're 100 degrees making it so hard for the children in their first week of school. it's been three days of near record-breaking temperatures in parts of minnesota, the temperature reaching a burning 92 degree mark. some schools are being closed for the rest of the week. >> friday's canceled, too? >> reporter: it's just too hot and the schools don't have air conditioning. >> right now our situation we feel like the best thing to do and the safest thing to do is to stop school for two days. we have more people that are feeling tired and sluggish. >> reporter: and the temperatures aren't just affecting minnesota, a giant heat dome has been perched over the midwest since sunday, lingering there and keeping that hot air locked in. >> let's talk about what we're looking at, adviceries again, south dakota into minnesota and big chunks of iowa, des moines

looking to break records tomorrow, expected to be hotter. today feeling like 105 to 110 degrees, the record 99 and by tomorrow they could be 101 degrees. about 20 degrees above normal. the big question is when are we going to feel the change we need. severe weather from minnesota and wisconsin and more importantly we'll start to see relief. saturday look at the temperatures still in the mid and upper 90s but by sunday notice minneapolis going down to 75 and des moines finally going down to the 80s so we have relief in sight and that's something we haven't been able to say all week long. >> normally we're talking about how cold it is in the winter. >> suddenly 72 in fargo looks cold. >> temperatures nothing compared to what they're dealing with out west.

michaela is giving us the latest on the yosemite fire. >> the giant fire burning near yosemite. the firefighters believe the fire is slowing down but it still does threaten thousands of homes. san francisco officials say the city's water supply is no longer in danger. the fire got close to the reservoir that supplies the city's water. a huge fire burning all night long after an oil rig between san antonio and houston exploded. firefighters will try to get it under control later this morning. no reports of fatalities and it's not clear what set off that blast. an ohio appeals court says a 10-year-old amish girl who is dying of cancer must continue to receive chemotherapy. the parents of sarah hirsch berger wanted to stop their daughter's treatments. the lawyer for hirsch berger says they may take their case to

the ohio court. surveillance video of attacks sparked national outrage back in july, many people asking why the bus driver didn't do more to stop it. the teens will face a juvenile court judge charged with aggravated battery in the case. a pennsylvania police chief posted a profanity laced rant where he fired off guns. he went out shooting just days before he is set to return to work. on this latest youtube video he took aim at a target that he calls eric, that also happens to be the first name of a burough councilman who wants him fired. >> poor eric. you remember the little boy who fell into that sink hole last month near lake michigan, nathan wisner was buried for nearly three hours in the sand. they got a chance to thank and meet the 139 people who helped

locate him and then dig him out and save his life. nathan was in the hospital for two weeks. this makes the story better, he was recovered in time to start first grade with his friends. you know that this is an emotional time for parents sending their kids back to school but you know for that family it was extra special. we'll hear from nathan later on in our show on "new day." >> amazing. forget about living through that ordeal in the sand. you cece how he was sitting still that entire time up on stage? >> i was thinking classic little kid fashion what is all this attention? >> he is a champ just for that alone. those parents are raising themselves a solid son there. glad to see he's coming along. thanks for that. we'll take a break here on "new day" and when we come back the wife of george zimmerman is opening up about her marriage and where things stand with her husband after his acquittal in the killing of trayvon martin. and fast food workers walking out, they want double the pay.

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welcome back to "new day." explosive revelations from the wife of george zimmerman, speaking out for the first time about their relationship. shellie zimmerman was sentenced wednesday to one-year probation for misdemeanor perjury charges. husband george was not there. turns out that may be more about the health of their marriage than about avoiding media attention. local reporter says george zimmerman's wife finds him guilty of being a non-supportive spouse who beat down her self-esteem as the trial put a strain on their marriage.

investigative journalist christi o'connor says shellie zimmerman made those comments in a recent interview, coming on the heels of shellie zimmerman admitting she lied when testifying during a bail hearing that the couple was flat broke. prosecutors say in truth, george zimmerman actually had about $135,000 at the time. >> and you mentioned also in terms of the ability of your husband to make the bond now that you all have no money. is that correct? >> to my knowledge, that's correct. >>, i quite frankly, from the state position, will flat out all it what it is, the defendant's wife lied to this court. >> reporter: the state's evidence recorded jailhouse phone conversations between the zimmermans, in which they apparently spoke in code. >> in my account, do i have at least $100? >> in this account is there $100, no. >> how close am i?

>> about $8.60. >> george zimmerman was noticeably absent from his wife's court appearance. shellie told her she feels "very much alone." shellie zimmerman says even though media attention has died down she and her husband are still getting death threats. we reached out for comment from george zimmerman's attorney and haven't heard back yet. let's figure out what this means legally. jo joey jackson always a pleasure. unusual for this type of charge to be fully prosecuted? >> it's really not. what ends up happening is perjury is being taken more seriously. in courts of law you want to search for the truth. and when people make misrepresentations that lead a court to stray, particularly when you misrepresent to the judge himself as happened here, then it becomes problematic. what i think was good about it was the result. it started out as a felony but

based upon her life and her wanting to become a nurse and that type of thing they said let's be reasonable, give her the misdemeanor, probation. >> and apologize to the judge. >> she apologized in a letter citing the bible and her obligations to be true to god and everything else but it's the right result, puts her on probation for a year period of time, allows her to pursue her nursing degree and other wiles disposes of it. another important element is the 100 hours of community service, do your community service, get this chapter over in your life and move forward. >> interesting point. they thought they were speaking in code but there was someone in the background giving them real numbers. no good. >> no good at all. when you're in jail as everyone should know, apparently they did not owe or did or worse made the language in code everything's recorded. you don't have any inspection of privacy if you're an inmate at a jail. 860 didn't mean $8.60.

$86,000 is more like it. >> you hear the woman in the back saying 8600. >> very much foiled. >> interesting, quasi-legal, these revelations about what kind of husband is he and what he put her through, had that speculation come out during the trial do you think it would have made any kind of difference? >> it's always interesting in a trial, you want the human element of someone, right, because trials are about you want to connect with the jury and of course he didn't testify although he can argue he did by virtue of all the testimony that was admitted with his videotaped depositions. i think it does make a difference. people want to know the person who sits in that defendant chair, chris, who are you? what type of person are you and are you the type that is able or capable to commit a crime like that. >> i said had they come out because almost no way to put the wife on the stand against the husband. >> no, because of the spousal privilege. you can do it as a character witness but whenever do you that you open up all kinds of doors

so it becomes a question of is it worth it to pursue that avenue. >> there's so much intrigue who is he and how he is, this is going to resonate whatever his wife has to say. >> i think the other issue is that any trial tacks an emotional toll upon anyone. you're really vested in the trial, the attorneys are working hard, the judge is working hard and the person sitting in that chair enduring having to go through the trial certainly it takes a toll on them. the marriage, i'm not surprised. >> it would be interesting to see if anything comes out from his wife how she feels about the verdict, what was going through her husband's mind. we'll see what happens. >> stay tuned. >> appreciate it as always. kate, over to you. >> chris, thanks so much. next up on "new day," the nation paused to remember the march on washington yesterday but did president obama hit the right note in his speech? john king will be here for our political gut check to talk about that. then there's this. why is this mom celebrating and dancing? because her kids are off to school. we'll show you the video that's going viral.

♪ here i go again on my own >> announcer: you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day." it is thursday, august 29th. coming up in the show, fast food, many love it, not indra petersons but guess what? the people who make it are not thrilled. many are walking out trying to show their bosses they deserve more money. we'll look at the issues behind the protest. and come up 17-year-old victoria duval is taking the tennis world by storm.

she's playing great at the u.s. open knocking off a big name in the first round. her next match coming up. first she sat down with our friend the one and only michaela pereira. hear her amazing story growing up in haiti and what got her onto the court. she is pretty spectacular. >> we went one and one, not on the court. >> what. >> she has a slight advantage. >> you only take on someone if you're going to win. i respect that. first let's get straight to michaela for the headlines. >> watching the developments, major developments on syria, and president obama says there is no doubt now that the assad regime used chemical weapons on its own people. key members of congress will be briefed on the evidence which could be made public as soon as today. no decision has been made on a possible strike. crews may finally be getting a handle on the enormous wildfire in and around yosemite

national park. it's right now at 30% containment. more than 192,000 acres have burned and 11 structures been destroyed. officials estimate full containment of the fire will take another three weeks. tens of thousands of dogs in detroit roaming the streets. hard times in the bankrupt city, people are abandoning their pets leaving them behind to fend for themselves. authorities say seven of every ten stray dogs taken in will be out if sleep. who will be the next judge on "american idol" after the collapse of the deal to add producer dr. luke. there is word another singer might be joining crooner and dreamy fella harry connick, jr., he would be joining jennifer lopez and keith urban. "american idol" season 13 beginning in january. want to give you a warning here, be careful if you're thinking of texting in new jersey. two judges on a state appeals

court panel say you could be held libel if you send a text to someone who is behind the wheel but only if you know the person happens to be driving and is likely to read the mess annuals. in that situation the person sending the text could be held liable for the accident and sued for damages. it really gives you pause. when in doubt just don't do it. don't text while driving. >> right if you're driving but what makes this decision odd and you see it and why it's not a criminal law it's a civil law in terms of what you could pay as opposed to jail responsibility is that this is a real stretch. texting and driving is bad, i get it, covered it, i've done it but the idea that the texter to the person driving is liable, i don't know if it's going to meet legal sufficiency. >> it does show away from legality it shows that everyone's desperately trying to figure out a way to combat this. >> laws are not always the way to fix things. >> not true, says the lord. >> if i say it, you know. >> you know it is true. let's move to our political gut check, all the stories you

need to know coming out of washington. first up the white house is in holding pattern before acting on syria as more lawmakers are demanding they get approval to be consulted before any u.s. military action is taken. john king is here to break this down for us. john, i know you've been working your sources on this. the president yesterday telling pbs he has not made a decision on whether to conduct military strike against syria but i think that statement at this point has many wondering after coming out so forcefully speaking against the chemical weapons attack, is there any other option? is this more of a matter of how far they go? >> if you listen to the president's remarks he was being careful publicly but behind what he was saying was clearly that he sees himself on a path to making that decision. he just hasn't picked the options yet, not that he's still debating whether or not to have a military response. that seemed clear. if bashar al assad would step

down that would change things. what is the next step? the president knows there's scent civil in the congress and around the country and the world so today you'll see an escalation of the administration's briefing key members of congress, sharing some intelligence and some of the administration's thinking. don't look for them to lay out the plans, option one, option two, option three but trying to bring senior members of the leadership and armed services and intellgence committees to give them more information they have demanding. >> since we started talking about this yesterday there are more calls that the white house and administration needs to step up their efforts, they need to be in the loop before any action is taken. the administration you said is going to be stepping up their efforts today. do you think that will allay concerns of members of congress or are they still going to -- it seems like they are still going to face a challenge. >> it's a great question and the important question. here is two tests i would lay out to watch over the next 48 to 72 hours. number one the members of the key intelligence armed services

committee they're much more experienced to be involved in the debates, one key republican richard burr, not a fan of this administration in any way but a member of the intelligence committee just yesterday put out a strong statement saying the united states must respond. the key republican on the senate armed services committee, james inhofe of oklahoma says no. he's not convinced the president needs to make the case. watch the people who this is their job to be on the key committees. the rank and file lawmakers tend to follow their lead. that's one thing to watch for. few more hits on potential timing. the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said the weapons inspectors will be done on friday, they will leave syria saturday and they will report immediately to him so that could give you a sense of a quickening of the pace of the report of the inspectors. >> seems that that time line or their schedule seems to have shifted over the past it seems almost every 12 hours, a new thing that will move the time line as well. switching gears i want to follow up on our conversation yesterday when the president took a moment, a very important moment

to mark the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. during his remarks he called on america kind of to in his words he said to take on the great unfinished business of the march and he was talking about addressing income disparity, that was one of his big i think themes of the speech. what do you think the big takeaways were of his remarks? a lot of people were waiting to hear what we to say. >> largely will you view this through the prism of your own life and experience. democrats are going to view it differently than republicans, white americans view it differently than african-americans. common things i talked to at the march is they found it less personal and more political than they anticipated. the president only made a brief reference talking about the advancement of african-americans in politics and talked about state government, city government, congress, he said yes, even the white house now. the back half of the speech was about income and equality, education and equality. the president making his case that the country must do more, he needs help from outside washington. that was a key point. change does not come from washington, change comes to washington, the president trying

to generate grassroots support, also harshly critical, he didn't name them but harshly critical of republicans who he believes have been blocking many of his initiatives in those regards. >> seems there were some politics weaved in. >> inevitable today. for better or worse. >> thanks so much, john. great to see you. coming up on "new day," 30 days in jail for a teacher convicted of raping one of his students. sound wrong, right? why the judge ruled that way is causing more outrage and calls for him to step down. we'll hear from the victim's mother and explain the situation. and it may be tougher to get your hands on fast food starting today. some workers are planning to walk out, so what's behind this action? what do they want? we'll talk about it and of course we are a few short weeks from september 16th, the "crossfire" debut. here's a look back at the show's final moments. >> on "crossfire" the discussion can turn on a dime.

in 19 8, bob hope went from joking about all the beautiful girls who went along on his tours to entertain u.s. troops to the realities of what those troops go through. >> which of all the girls have you taken abroad has had the highest rating on the applause meter? >> that would be order that guess that. we had ann-margret and raquel welch and jill st. john and i'd do it again for my country. >> bob, you know, you've had a lot of fun on these tours, it's a great time but you also go into a lot of these hospitals and a lot of those kids in there, the ones you talked to and you entertain and joke around with are kids you probably know, found out later never came back. >> that's true. >> what are some of the poignant moments? >> there was one down, espritos santos, 1944, south pacific, a kid getting a blood transfusion. i said how does that raspberry taste? he said he was pretty food.

an hour later the nurse came out and said you know that fellow you were just speaking to? the kid just died. i think farmers care more about the land

than probably anyone else. we've had this farm for 30 years. we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us.

let's go around the world starting in israel where the country is now preparing for action against syria and the potential fighting might spill over. jim clancy is in jerusalem. >> the police had to be called in, thousands of israelis turned out to collect free gats masks. the looming strike against syria produced some real public threats against israel and while officials here say they think the risks are very, very low, the people who have gathered here would rather not take that risk. back to you, kate. >> thanks so much. in russia a controversial painting of vladimir putin is drawing a lot of attention. jim black is in moscow. >> reporter: the striking image shows russian president vladimir

putin gently touching the hair of his prime minister, dmitry medvedev, while both are wearing women's underwear. police seized pictures of other politicians behind the country's controversial anti-gay propaganda law. they raided the gallery in st. peteringburg because the works of art may have broken the law but they didn't say which law. st. petersburg are where people are getting together for the g-20 summit. retailers and fast food chains are bracing for strikes in 50 cities. workers are asking for more money and the right to form unions. to make their point they're setting up picket lines. we bring in christine romans to figure out the situation. >> we'll call it a do you want fries with the economy, guys. thousands of americans working part-time not as a steppingstone something else but as a career. >> cheep the workers, keep the fries, make our wages supersized! >> reporter: protests like this

one last month in st. louis expected to spread to 50 american cities today, workers from mcdonald's, wendy's and other fast food restaurants will take to the streets to protest what they call starvation wages. fast food workers make around $9 an hour, or just over $18,500 a year, below the national poverty level of $23,000 for a family of four. they want $15 an hour, double the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and they want the right to unionize. >> people united, we'll never be defeated. >> reporter: these are among the fastest growing jobs and low pay is not new, but due to the part-time economy, 8.2 million americans who'd rather have a full time job are punching the clock part-time instead. >> it's very, very difficult, because i have to choose between taking care of my family sometimes and paying the bills. >> sometimes my husband eats and i don't or sometimes i eat and my husband don't. you know, we have to alternate

like that because we can't eat every day and still supply for our children. >> reporter: restaurants say their wages are fair. the national restaurant association told us "these jobs teach valuable skills and a strong work ethic that are useful for workers throughout their professional careers." retail workers are joining the food fight. macy's, dollar tree and sears employees also expected to walk off the job today. the workers don't think you should have to pay a penny more for your big mac, they think it's in corporate profits where the extra wages come from. mcdonald's had a profit last year of $5.5 billion but you hear from people inside the restaurant industry they say you start raising the wages, we'll just automate more. >> there is a window into something, we see the unemployed rate but underemployed and

part-time make the number bigger. >> when you have more jobs on the other end, when it is a steppingstone job and there are other jobs on the other end there's not so much concern. >> is there middle ground, maybe not doubling the minimum. is there a middle ground here? i don't see it. >> the industry says they are willing to talk about fair wages. they want to talk about it but $15 an hour, they say these jobs right now aren't fair. >> it's a negotiation, a window into a problem we'll see more of. christine thank you very much. coming up next on "new day," rising tennis star victoria duval, the amazing underdog victory everyone is talking about, she plays again today but not before we go one on one with the american everyone is cheering for. and why is this mother dancing in the streets? if you're a mother of children that are going back to school you might relate. she's happy because they went back to school, today's must see moment. we'll share more on this boog ye down when we come back. >> i respect the moves and the

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"stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. ready, a giant football. >> the kid's got sick hands, 7 years old!

♪ it's okay you can dance at home. today's must see moment is a dancing mom, this is tracy in framingham, massachusetts, saying bye, bye, bye, to her two sons. i love this. it is the dance of joy. she's made this a habit the last five years dancing as her kids' school bus pulls away. as you said, cuomo she doesn't

rush it because you know what? she's got all the time in the world because the first day of school has come, looks forward to getting more me time now that summer is over, mothers and fathers around the nation you're probably feeling the same way. >> you told me she set up the tripod. this is a selfie video. >> it's a selfie. >> planning and preparation. >> the neighbors drive by and she keeps on dancing. oh, there she goes again. >> she's happy because of the parents' deep abiding faith in education for their children. that's what it is, not about having them out of your hair, not being able to clean the house and have it stay that way for more than five minutes, it's the love of education. >> the carton of milk in the fridge that has milk in it and not just a drop? >> that was a good one. >> that is the kind of dancing we need to see on the show for the right reasons. >> and on that note, kids get ready for school. coming up next on "new day" they were supposed to be in school today speaking of but some minnesota children are home instead, the heat is baking that state and a lot of the midwest. and we are hitting the top

news for you, we have the latest on the situation in syria, the potential u.s. response, the battle in congress. the white house is evaluating options but what will this mean? we're going to cover the story like no one else can for you here all morning long. stay with us.

we got new information about johnny football. you know him, johnny manziel, start quarterback got caught giving autographs, maybe getting compensated.

the ncaa was into it, thought he'd be suspended forever. turns out one-half of his first game against rice so is that the right penalty? what does this mean? andy scholes is here to explain in "the bleacher report." what do you make of this? >> he got off easy in the deal. the ncaa found no evidence to prove that johnny football received any money for signing autographs but they did say he violated a rule by signing so many autographs and that's why he was suspended for one half of a football game against rice on saturday. they added if any new evidence comes to light they will review it and consider if further action is appropriate. the college football season kicks off tonight. the nfl season will get started a week from tonight with the denver broncos hosting the baltimore ravens. the broncos have caught flack for hanging promotional banners of ravens quarterback joe flacco around the stadium. the broncos resisted hanging the pictures of flacco but the nfl

insisted. the swagger selection on bleacherreport.com today check out what a $13,000 basketball looks like. that's right, $13k. the famous beverly hills boutique is celebrating the opening of its newly remodeled store. it looks fancy and it can actually be used to play basketball. they're only going to make two of these fancy blue leather basketballs so chris, if you're looking for christmas presents for kate and michaela, there you go. >> just what i need a basketball. why? you know what? the great thing about america. or italy, because it's an italian company. french company, thank you. i don't know my fashion let alone my sports so i think we should move on. >> permian, french. time for the rock block, a quick roundup of the stories you'll be talking about today. >> you two make me smile.

from "the guardian" did life begin on mars? 3 million years ago they may have brought over an element that helped organic molecules develop into the first life forms on earth. a think piece from "the wall street journal," researchers used stem cells to grow miniature modules of most natural structure known to man, the mini brains. this little gem from "usa today," acue puncture for an alligator? it's apparently helped his bad back. who knew? time for business news with christine romans. >> good morning, michaela. stock futures higher this morning as prospects of an eminent u.s. military strike on syria seem less certain. wednesday the dow industrials broke a two-day losing streak and showed the largest one day point gain in a week. for the first time ever ford's best seller will be made right here in the usa, the fusion.

ford's flat rock production starts today and also in mexico. there was a gameboy 3ds and now 2ds, nintendo removing functionality from its portable 3-d part has been essential but the 2ds will be $40 cheaper. >> we have a tropical storm in the pacific, julia. could mean bad news for baja, california. all of this tropical moisture again going into the southwest, threat for flooding, one to two inches possible over the next few days. last weekend, flash flooding caused and more on the way. >> thank you. we're at the top of the hour, everyone, means it's time for the top news. >> there is a prospect in which chemical weapons could be directed at us. >> the battle over syria, the

president upping the ante saying there need to be consequences for syria's use of chemical weapons but can he get congress to agree? sleepless nation, a new federal study with the clearest yet on how poorly americans sleep. prescription drug use is on the rise so what's behind the surge in insomnia? meet the underdog the 17-year-old american tennis phenom to w.h.o. upset a champ and faces her next rival today, one on one with the inspiring competitor. >> your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: what you need to know -- >> whey said bass demeaning to all women. i owe all our fellow citizens an apology. >> announcer: what you have to see. >> it felt like picking up an old jug. >> announcer: this is "new day"

with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning, welcome back, thursday august 29th. president obama has not decided what to do about syria but he is convinced they have used chemical weapons and there must be a response. senator tim cain is demanding congress have a say before any action is taken. we're talking about a late summer heat wave baking the midwest. how hot is it? too hot for schools. when will they get relief from the record-breaking temperatures and head back to the classroom. actress valerie harper, tremendous lady, months after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer the 74-year-old is taking on a brand new and huge challenge. she's going to join the cast of "dancing with the stars." we'll have much more on her inspiring story later this hour. we begin with the u.s. inching closer to a possible strike against syria. president obama now says it's

clear that the government there carried out chemical weapons attacks on their own people and that the international community must respond. the president says no decision has been made yet about what that response should be. the white house is set to brief key members of congress in a conference call later today. the uk plans to disclose some of its intelligence it's fwaegathe against the assad regime. let's start with barbara starr at the pentagon. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. the uk and u.s. plan to release what information it has to the chemical weapons attack. president obama says he hasn't decided what to do but is determined to hold syria accountable. >> we want the assad regime to understand that, by using chemical weapons on a large scale against your own people, against women, against infants, against children, that you are

not only breaking international norms and standards of decency, but you're also creating situation where u.s. national interests are affected and that needs to stop. >> reporter: in an interview with the pbs news hour, the president left no doubt who he believes ordered the chemical weapons attacks. >> we've concluded the syrian government in fact carried these out. >> reporter: among the evidence intercepts of syrian commanders discussing the movement of chemical weapons to the area of the attack, provided by israeli intelligence. the potential next step, cruise missile strikes has put the u.s. at direct odds with russia >> we do not believe that the syrian regime should be able to hide behind the fact that the russians continue to block action on syria at the u.n. >> reporter: but behind the scenes officials are signaling

the u.s. may not wait for the united nations to act. the u.s. military is strengthening its position in the eastern mediterranean with the addition of two more submarines and the syrian regime is also getting ready. >> we are in a state of war preparing ourselves for the worst scenario. >> at this hour the president says the syrian regime did it. the real question on the table, with the u.s. intelligence community link assad directly? do they have the evidence he himself ordered it? u.s. officials are saying no matter what, they are going to hold him and the regime responsible. chris? >> i'll take it, barbara. sounds like it could be a critical day ahead, barbara star at the pentagon. syria's government sending an open letter to the british parliament with a clear message, don't attack us. freight to cnn's fred pleitgen joining us from beirut. what is the latest from your side, fred? >> in this open letter it says

if america bombs syria it would only lead to nor destabilization in the middle east. in damascus the syrian military is also preparing for a possible bombing campaign. we're hearing the air force and the army headquarters are all but abandoned, many high-ranking officers leaving and syria appears to be moving some of its military hardware to different locations obviously in anticipation of possible air strikes, trying to get those, that hardware into safety, whether or not that will work is something that obviously remains to be seen. meanwhile the u.n. weapons inspectors are continuing their mission on the ground, they're in a suburb of eastern damascus called al huta where they are on the ground once again. we mansioned to get video exclusively out of that suburb and it shows just absolute devastation. there's a mass grave. there are dead bodies that still have not been claimed even several days after all of this happened because people simply can't identify them and therefore are not able to bury

them. people told us that many died in their sleep as that chemical agent was unleashed, but there were also some tales of miraculous escape with one man showing us a makeshift gas mask that he'd made for himself out of a paper cup, some cotton and some coal, simply to try and hold up that gas as best as he could. the mood in damascus is one where people are starting to get very nervous, wondering what sort of impact possible military strikes could have on their lives. >> thank you very much for the reporting this morning. many lawmakers are telling the president they want a say in this drumbeat to military action, one of them is senator tim caine, democrat from virginia, joins us now. welcome to "new day," thank you for joining us. >> thank you, chris, you bet. glad to be with you. >> do you believe the president can go it alone and make the decision unilaterally or do you believe this decision triggers the constitutional procession of having a congressional vote? >> chris, the framers of the constitution created an

ambiguity and understood what they were doing. congress has the power to declare war, the president is the commander in chief. the framers during the debates as early as 1787 understood there could be emergency circumstances where the president would need to act prior to congressional action but to come in and ratify and approve what the president had done. there are some circumstances to help with the president's defending the nation and to avoid a catastrophe can act prior to congressional approval. the president has been prudent about this thus far. he has been very prudent about it. i think he should continue to be prudent and that would have in-depth consultation with congre congress, speaker boehner addressed a series of questions to the president today and i hope that dialogue continues because when you get congress on

board you have the best chance of getting the american public's support and you also send those americans and virginians who are asking to fight wars, you send them in with the knowledge that the public and the political leadership of the country is fully mind them. >> we saw the president then senator standing up and saying president bush criticizing him saying you should have put this to congress for a vote dealing with iran and came up with iraq. do you believe that congress should come back early, that there needs to be a vote, that vote.esident should not move whether or not congress needs to come back early, the inspectors are still on the ground in syria, they're not scheduled to complete their report until over the weekend and they'll issue the report. we are scheduled to come back in session a week from monday. i think there's ample work the president can do in consultation with the congressional leadership about this until we're back. i think we are going to be back soon and it would be completely consistent with the president's prudence up to this point for him to continue to have that

dialogue. i mean, again, i'm struck by this as a virginian, we are the most connected to the military of any of the states in terms of our veteran population, the soldiers and sailors and airmen and women and marines who are here, ships from virginia are already deployed potentially to take action. we shouldn't ask people to fight war unless they know they have the full weight of the political leadership behind them and the public supports their decision. the consultation over with the congress the next few days could be critical in reaching a consensus that will support whatever action needs to be taken. >> obviously the issue of consultation versus a contingency meaning that you have to have congressional approval is something you have to figure out for ourselves. let's talk about what the basis of it would be. there's been quick movement since last thursday when we spoke to the president he was unsure about leaking chemical attacks of the regime. now it seems like that is a certainty to the u.s. administration but then comes

word just within the last few minutes that there is certain within the intelligence community that the intelligence showing that the regime was responsible for these chemical attacks is not a slam dunk. slam dunk a turn of art from george tenet about wmds in iraq, it's a scary phrase. what does that mean to you that the intelligence may not be a slam dunk that we cannot show in the u.s. that the assad regime, assad himself responsible for what was done? >> well, chris, that's why it really is important to let the u.n. inspectors continue and complete their work. we have our own intelligence, the british do and others do as well but let's let the u.n. inspectors complete their work because you're right, congress does i believe need to weigh in and approve. the issue is what is the mission. use of chemical weapons violates a clear international norm that's been in place since the jenita convention adopted a

mission after world war i. it is completely over the line for a government or any entity to use chemical weapons and there has to be a consequence for it. so we need to determine -- >> let me ask, senator, because we have to be careful about the language, if the ap reporting is right and the intelligence community hasn't connected the call to use chemical weapons to assad himself, that maybe it was a rogue operation by a member of the regime, does it matter to you? if that's true, does it matter? >> those are important factors. the question of whether it's a rogue element that ordered it or whether it was done in the chain of command, i don't think you had to have assad's signature on the order to hold him accountable for it. the use of chemical weapons is a violation of clear international law. if there's no consequence we're sending the signal that international alarm doesn't need to be respected and we in

humanity will reap the whirlwind if we don't have a consequence. determining the consequence the mixture of economic, military and diplomatic strategies is important and those should be designed to deter and degrade the use of chemical weapons in the future. >> if the u.s. does what's being bandied about right now and some type of punishing action done to the regime, not to topple the regime, the rebels fighting against the regime include al qaeda elements right now, that's the understanding from the intelligence community. >> yes, they do. >> wouldn't that then put the united states on the side of al qaeda in this conflict? >> well, chris, that's why the president has been very prudent over the course of the last couple of years despite calls for intervention. it is the case the opposition is militarily dominated by elements connected with al qaeda. it's smart to be prudent but the use of chemical weapons there has to be a consequence for

that. there is some possibility chemical weapons could be used by the opposition. there's been some suggestion they may have been in the past. i don't think the intelligence is good on that but we want to make sure if the opposition gains control of chemical weapons they don't use them either. so the strategy and the consequence and what we have to do in tandem with our international partners is to deter the use of chemical weapons and to degrade the ability of any party in syria to use those weapons in violation of international law. >> but you believe that you and other members of congress, congressional leadership are aware that you may be giving advantage to al qaeda elements if you go in and damage the regime? >> you know, chris, what i've said, i'll say it again, what we need to do is take a limited action, designed to deter the use of chemical weapons either by the assad regime or any the opponents and to degrade the ability of the weapons to be used by any party. this is what is the changed fact on the ground. if that international norm has

been violated, a norm placed for 90 years to have there be no consequence for that would be intolerab intolerable. >> senator, please come back to us on "new day" so we can keep the dialogue going for the american people. >> will do, thanks, chris. >> thank you, senator. >> thanks, chris. another big story we're following this morning the heat melting the midwest. in minneapolis some kids are being kept out of school. indra petersons with more on this. >> you talk about heat the concern is not just how high the record-breaking numbers are but how long you're dealing with this heat. many places in the midwest have been seeing temperatures in the 90s that feel like even 110 degrees since sunday. >> it's been three days of near record-breaking temperatures and parts of minnesota, temperature reaching a burning 72 degrees yesterday but feeling like it's past the 100 degree mark. now some schools across minneapolis are being closed for

the rest of the week. >> friday is canceled, too? >> it's too hot and the schools don't have any air conditioning. >> with our situation we feel the best and safest thing to do is to stop school for two days. we have more people that are feeling tired and sluggish. >> reporter: and the temperatures aren't just affecting minnesota. giant heat dome has been perched over the midwest since sunday, lingering there and keeping that hot air locked in. just take a look at some of the temperatures still today, des moines, 98 degrees, 15 above normal, seeing 15 to 20 degrees above normal for days after days. we'll show you what is expected as we go forward in time and notice we're still dealing with des moines, the record is 99. tomorrow they're expected to even warm, looking for 101 degrees and break that record so we're looking for the change, when are we going to finally see this relief? we have a system making its way through today. we are going to see severe weather in minnesota and wisconsin but more importantly behind that, we'll start to see the relief. it's going to take some time. look at saturday's temperatures.

quickly you notice between saturday and sunday, that's where we see the big change and we'll see the 70s back in minneapol minneapolis, which will feel so much better. imagine a week of temperatures of like 110. we barely got through a few days a couple weeks ago. >> we were about to run out. >> a little bit settling down in temperatures but out west people struggling with the yosemite fire. >> let's bring you up to date on the rim fire, at 30% containment right now. it has burned through more than 193,000 acres in northern california, including parts of yosemite national park, now in its 13th day. the rim fire is the sixth largest wildfire in california history. so far the state has spent $39 million battling those flames. brace yourself for a nationwide strike of fast food workers today. employees in as many as 50 cities planning to take to the picket lines. they want chains like mcdonald's, taco bell and wendy's to raise what they call

starvation pay. the average worker makes about $9 an hour, just over $18,000 a year well below the poverty line for a family of four. the restaurants for their part say their rates are fair. an oil rig burning all night long in texas after an explosion and a huge fire. firefighters letting it burn overnight as they waited for extra help to arrive. this morning they'll try to get it under control. so far no fatalities and it is unclear what set off that blast. michael jackson's history with propofol front and center of the wrongful death trial in los angeles. the doctor testified she turned down his request to treat it in 2000 and jurors heard from a nurse practitioner who says jackson asked her for a powerful sedative shortly before he died. the family is suing concert promoter aeg live claiming they're responsible for his overdose death. miley cyrus is taking a lot

of heat but still a hit with one u.s. marine, sergeant jay owings wants to take miley to the marine corps ball november th, he started a campaign on youtube to get a date, he contends miley is "awesome, despite what anyone else says." sergeant owings is due to be discharged on november 15th after seven years of service. there you go. that's a new thing they put the youtube videos out asking for a date. >> i can't remember the first celebrity this started. >> hard to remember now. >> there there was definitely one. >> and then it was like oh it worked. tell us because i clearly can't remember. thanks again. coming up next on "new day," can't sleep? well, there is a pill for that. surprising number of people do take those pills, but what does that mean for our health? and have you heard about this? a teacher given a month in jail for rape, a shocking case out of montana. hear what the judge said. we'll speak with the mother of a

victim coming up.

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northrop grumman. uh, i don't know what's happening. "start a new chat." what did i do? ok. wow. that is so weird. hello! hey! hi! hi! oh, my gosh. hi. god. i don't even know what to say right now, i'm so nervous. gia, you're so big! come closer to the camera. wait. now you're in my face. gia: bye! woman: love you!

alex: that was so good. welcome back to "new day." a new study says something you might know already, americans popping sleeping pills at an eye opening, eye popping rate, according to the first health report to focus on actual use of prescription pills. at least 8.6 million americans take prescription sleep aids, between 50 million to 70 million suffer from disrupted sleep. why is a good night's sleep getting harder to find? we're joined by dr. jennifer coddell. if we had a perfect pill for it we wouldn't be talking about it. >> we'd be well rested.

>> the numbers are amazing, 8.6 million people are using sleep medication every month. >> yes. >> what do you make of the results? >> the phrase 8.6 million seems like a lot of people but as a family practitioner, honestly every single day i see people who are on these medications or who are coming in asking for them so quite honestly i believe that number. i believe there are millions of people out there that not only have problems sleeping but are on these medications as well. >> in part of the study it was pretty extensive, the study found the number of people taking the medication kind of kicked up in and around their 50s and also it was much higher among women so are we talking about more people are having trouble sleeping or more people are now becoming more comfortable taking a sleep medication? >> my personal opinion, it's both. let's talk about why someone might have problems sleeping. look at our 24 hour a way seven day a week world we live in. we got cell phones and computers

that never shut off. i think that's really having a toll on our environment and community but sometimes people work shift work, they might work at night, sometimes at day, and sometimes people have conditions like sleep apnea or restless leg and don't forget anxiety, depression, life stressors, if you lost a family member or a job, these impact a person's sleep so there's many reasons why we're seeing this but i think it's a combination of that and probably yeah, people are more comfortable saying hey, doc, what can we do about this? >> we're not just talk about being tired at work. sleep deprivation has an impact on your health. >> insomnia and being tired is not a joke. we know that car crashes, motor vehicle accidents, fatalities from people who are driving, who are sleepy, that's one example. it's astronomical. it's dangerous, downright dangerous. so it's definitely really important that look if you're not sleeping at night, don't forget there are other things, too. you're going to work being tired means you're probably not

concentrating as well as you might be able to normally, just being distracted, not performing optimally. it's not just the car crash which in and of itself is bad but it's a whole world effect. >> when i've gone a long time with little sleep i feel lie immune system is compromised, you'll get sick easier. what is the best advice to give patients, what is the best way to get sleep without a sleep medication and do you also, are you fine with recommending a sleep medication? >> to answer that question first, as a family doctor, yes. sleep medications are appropriate for many people. it's got to be the right person, the right patient,

>> do it, absolutely. >> all right, on that note i'm going to go back to bed. dr. jennifer caudle, thank you, good advice we all need to live by. chris? when we come back on "new day" a troubling story, a rape victim dead, a judge under fire and the rapist a teacher facing just 30 days in jail. controversial sentence, many now want the judge off the bench. we'll explain. she could be the future of tennis, victoria or vicky duval wows fans on and off the court,

she's just 17 years old. before her next match we had the opportunity to catch up with her to hear her tremendous story, that's ahead. y grandkids. wish i saw mine more often, but they live so far away. i've been thinking about moving in with my daughter and her family. it's been pretty tough since jack passed away. it's a good thing you had life insurance through the colonial penn program. you're right. it was affordable, and we were guaranteed acceptance. guaranteed acceptance? it means you can't be turned down because of your health. you don't have to take a physical or answer any health questions. they don't care about your aches and pains. well, how do you know? did you speak to alex trebek? because i have a policy myself. it costs just $9.95 a month per unit. it's perfect for my budget. my rate will never go up. and my coverage will never go down because of my age. affordable coverage and guaranteed acceptance?

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♪ >> announcer: you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day." it is thursday, august 29th. coming up in the show the suspects involved in that now infamous florida school bus beating are back in court today but what will their punishment be? they could get just a slap on the wrist and that is not sitting well with the victim's family. we'll have an exclusive

interview with the victim's grandmother coming up. valerie harper is getting ready for the next role, she's going to be on "dancing with the stars." we'll tell you all about it. first to michaela for the top news. here are our headlines we begin with syria, president obama says there is no doubt the assad regime used chemical weapons on its own people and that the international community must respond. however no decision has been made on whether that will come in the form of military strike but the president's words were accompanied by a buildup of u.s. military might in the region. a florida man accused of murdering his wife and posting a picture of her dead body on facebook will appear in a miami courtroom this morning. 31-year-old derek medina will be arraigned on first-degree charges in the murder of his wife. police found her body august 8th inside the couple's south miami home. the wife of george zimmerman is breaking her silence. shellie zimmerman pleaded guilty for misleading the judge at her

husband's bond hearing but he was conspicuously absent from court. shellie is speaking out about the relationship saying she feels very much alone, her self-esteem beaten down. beating the late summer heat in the town of colcord, oklahoma s easier said than done because apparently there is worms in their water supply. this is icky. people are being told not to drink cap water until they get the red worms out of the local supply. one local councilman tells residents it is safe for showering? that's up to you if you want to shower with wormy water but don't drink it. after 6 years a world war ii veteran has been reunited with a set of dog tags he lost and wore way back when. jahue mundy lost his dog tags in china and how they ended up back

in his home state of indiana, a couple got in touch with him after they found them in their backyard. mundy said is he not going to lose them again, he's given them to his son for safekeeping along with the rest of his world war ii memorabilia and treasures including his purple heart. there's still a mystery on how it ended up with that couple's backyard. thank goodness they returned it to them. >> thank you for that, mick, appreciate it. a story about a montana judge accused of an injustice. the sentence he gave an admitted rapist, and the comments he made of the teenager are considered a slap in the face of all women. we'll talk to the victim's mother in a moment but first miguel marquez with the story. >> this morning outrage growing over the sentence this man, montana's district judge g. todd baugh handed to a convicted rapist, 30 days in jail. it's what the judge said when

making his ruling. >> in the rambo sentencing i made some references to the victim's age and control. i'm not sure just what i was attempting to say at that point, but it didn't come out correct. >> reporter: the sentence for former high school teacher stacy rambold for breaking his plea agreement in the 2003 rape of 14-year-old morales. he said morales was in as much control as her 49-year-old rapist, she presented herself as older than her chronological age. the judge under fire for blaming the victim is taking back the words but he's not changing the sentence. >> what i said was demeaning to all women, not what i believe in, and irrelevant to the sentencing. i owe all of our fellow citizens an apology. >> reporter: morales took her own life just before trial in 2010. she was just 17 years old.

the prosecution case fell apart, a plea deal was struck, rambold's 15-year sentence suspended, put on probation but didn't live up to it. yellow stone prosecutors want to put him away for 30 years and instead he got 30 days. outrage over the sentence taking social media by storm, at least three petitions urging the removal of judge baugh are soliciting signatures. this one was started by protesters in billings, montana. this afternoon, hundreds of protesters are expected to gather at billings courthouse, they want judge baugh to resign and the state's attorney general to get the ruling reversed. the attorney general's office says it's reviewing the case. miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. >> and joining us now is the mother of that teenaged girl, alliyah is joining me. thank you for being here this morning. i'm so sorry for your loss.

you pain must be unimaginable. how are you doing today? >> not bad. >> i guess that's really the only way to answer it. it must sob difficult to speak out publicly after everything that your family has been through, but that sentence and what happened during sentencing and what the judge said is making you speak out. what was that like? >> it was horrific. chronological age? who is he to decide what her, you know that she's older than her chronological age. she was 14. chronologically, and that's what is relevant. >> and now you no longer have her with you. the judge has since apologized for what he said about your daughter, about, that she seemed older than her age and she was

in much control of the situation as her 49-year-old teacher. does the fact that's poll gilesed, does that make any difference to you now? does it make it any easier? >> no. how could she be in control of the situation? he was a teacher. she was a student. she wasn't in control of anything. she was 14. >> can you even describe what -- were you even able to comprehend that this was being said about your daughter when she wasn't even there to defend herself? >> no. i don't know what he was thinking. who is noib judge how old someone is? it doesn't matter how old they act. she was 14. >> and a victim. this has sparked outrage not only in your community but far beyond protests are planned today. will you be attending those protests? is this something you want to be a part of?

>> i will be at the courthouse protest today. >> many are calling on the judge to resign. would you like him to resign? >> if itif he's going to keep hg down sentences like that and making judgments on how old people act and -- yeah. he's not wise enough -- i can't say not wise enough. nobody is wise enough to say, oh, you're older than you look, or you're older than you are. >> could you even say, is there justice? what would justice be for you in this situation at this point? >> who knows? i just thought he would go to prison, and he didn't. >> and now you're left, you and your family have been through so much already. thank you so much for taking the

time to speak with me auliea hanlon. it goes without saying our thoughts and prayers are with you. >> thank you for having me and getting the word out. >> for the judge's explanation of what he said he still hasn't explained why he didn't change his sentence. that's an important interview to have on the show this morning, kate. we'll take a break here on "new day." when we come back the latest on valerie harper's cancer battle. why the actress isn't just giving up hope, she's looking for her future and planning new roles. and coming up we go one on one with this young lady, victoria duval, riding high after an amazing performance, an exuberant celebration at the u.s. open, she's only 17. we caught up with her to talk about what got her on the court and her experiences growing up in haiti. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy?

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♪ you're simply the best appropriate music for this next interview here. just 17 years old, victoria duval has become an overnight sensation at this year's u.s. open. she was born in miami, raised in her parents native hawaii -- haiti, pardon me. she picked up the racquet at age 7 to pass the time at her brother's tennis lessons and on tuesday night she defeated a former u.s. open champion in the first round. duval currently ranked at 296th in the world put her firmly in the spotlight. she is the surprise sweetheart of the u.s. open. but unlike so many of the pros, tennis was not always the dream for victoria duval. >> i wanted to be a ballerina. >> reporter: who are the tennis players in the family, what happened? >> what happened? >> reporter: she was going to be a ballerina, right? >> yeah, she started off wanting to be a ballerina but i guess she just wanted to be like us,

she wanted to follow in our footsteps. >> reporter: at just 1 and ranked 296th in the world, she pulled out a stunning upset overcoming 11th seed samantha stosur, a former u.s. open champ. >> she's done it! >> reporter: she won the crowd over with her jubilant celebration and charm. >> i'm really excited right now. >> it was a good feeling. i mean, like eight, ten years watching and waiting for that moment. this is a dream and this is something, this is a passion. i'm happy for her. >> the whole crowd was going nuts. the crowd just blurred them out. >> reporter: victoria has overcome the odds before. as a young child she and several family members were held hostage at gunpoint during a robbery in haiti and then in 2010 her father, jean maurice, a physician was in port-au-prince when the earthquake struck, badly injured, he dug himself out of the rubble.

>> obviously, you know, we've experienced quite a lot and just having the hard work pay off on such a big stage, i was glad god gave me that opportunity. >> on the surface you would never know what this families had been through. they are close knit, joyfully celebri celebrating her win. her brother wearing a shirt d.o.n. >> dreams over nightmares. >> reporter: what does that mean at you? >> i look at the dreams part. >> reporter: what are your dreams? >> to win all grand slams and becoming a major tennis player. >> reporter: vicki said after that exuberance she got a text message from who, tennis legend billie jean, it said "congratulations, i'm really proud of you." she was really excited getting that text message. she faces daniela hantuchova

later today. her coach talked about the importance of the family support, they're all with this. >> you almost feel in that moment when she realizes, you feel her sheer, raw jaw. it's so cool. >> she's a great kid with lots of energy and she really has fun out there. that's the other thing that i noticed. >> it's an important thing for them to have especially early on. there's all the pressure to push them through the brackets. doesn't really matter who she takes on next. she's had her moment and anything else is gravy. >> even her coach said they're concerned about the spotlight and all the pressure at 17, that's a lot to handle but i argued when you have that kind of family support, it does help buffer it a little bit. >> she may have the perspective that it's just a game. >> she told me life is short. she knows that all too well. >> they learned it the hard way. >> good luck, good luck. >> good for you, mick. >> it was a fun day.

>> going to head back out there and watch a little tennis? >> no, i didn't watch any tennis yesterday but i'll do that today. >> a little bit of rain. >> matches were delayed yesterday because of rain. >> you gave us sunshine with the story. thank you. >> thanks, michaela. come up next on "new day" they're back in court, three teenagers accused of a brutal crime caught on camera. what the victim's family is telling us in an exclusive interview and why the teens accused of this beating on a bus may get off with a slap on the wrist. and then we have this great story about valerie harper. we know she has terminal cancer, supposed to only have a few months left but there's rumors she's making plans to be back on tv this fall. how she is beating the odds, next. ♪

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welcome back to "new day. "little bit of a side chat there. actress valley harper is giving new word to the meaning inspiring. she announced in march she has terminal britain cancer. despite that, she's going strong. rumored to be taking on a huge, new challenge. nischelle turner joins us with more on this. this is good news. >> very, very, very good news, chris. this is incredible and inspiring and this just says so much about her strength. we all remember her as rhoda on the "mary tyler moore" show. valerie harper revealed to the world in march that she is

suffering from terminal brain cancer. >> at first i thought, oh, three months to live. >> reporter: harper defied those odds still going strong and taking on a new challenge. celebrity news website tmz is reporting that harper will hit the ball room floor. stunning many because of harper's incurable form of cancer she discussed on piers morgan. >> a lot can happen if the cancer gets really aggressive, pressing on parts of the brain. >> reporter: doctors gave her until june to live, but she far surpassed that. >> i want folks to see me that i'm okay, i'm not suffering, so far. and there may be pain and a lot of things ahead, but whatever they are, they're ahead. >> reporter: at a recent press event for the sit com "hot in cleveland" she addressed her prognosis. >> no doctor in the world can say this is your three months,

six months. that's what our experience is, but every case is different. >> reporter: her commitment to the physically demanding reality show could have the 74-year-old on the dancing floor for weeks, if america votes her through to the finale. harper's outlook on life and her determination, nothing short of remarkable. >> death is out there for all of us and that there are other ways to handle it than just sit on the couch and accept. >> phenomenal. >> phenomenal. reps for the show tell us they don't comment on casting rumors and we have reached out to valley harper's representatives, as well. tmz is saying and christina milian will compete this upcoming season. one of my favorite songs is "i hope you'll dance" that's what i am emoding to valley harper. i hope you dance. >> we always talk about live your life to the fullest.

you rarely see someone living it. if someone gives her the leeway to be sad, depressed, throw in the towel. she is living life every moment that she has. >> i loved her words when she said, no doctor can tell me what my prognosis is. >> they say that's half the battle, oftentimes. their outlook really makes a difference. >> i love it. >> i just love her. >> i know, right. >> to me, you know, she'll never be her cancer. she'll always be what she represents on the screen and the energy she brings to her life. i'll vote for her. i'll be one of those crazy robo dialers. >> and he has two phones. >> that cuomo can't read for anything this morning. he was up last night. coming up next on "new day" a heartwarming reunion. a boy, you remember this story, the poi that was trapped in an

indiana sand dune his family is saying thank you to the people who saved his life. we're following the big stories for you. keeping track of what is going to happen in syria. president obama says he's convinced the syrian used chemical weapons against its own people. we'll cover this from washington, beirut, all angles for you. ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.

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>> we do not believe that the opposition could have carried out these attacks. we have concluded that the syrian government, in fact, carried these out. >> making the case, the

president warns of serious consequences for syria, but will congress agree on the need for action? if not, will the president go it alone? we're live with the latest. fearing for her life and speaking out against her husband. george zimmerman's wife is finally talking about their ordeal and why she says her husband has beaten down her self-esteem. the miracle boy. we hear for the first time from the little boy who was trapped inside that sand dune for hours. his emotional reunion with the rescuers who saved him. your "new day" continues right now. >> what you need to know -- >> to hear him saying, stop, stop, breaks my heart. what you just have to see. >> good.

this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning, welcome back to "new day," everyone. it's 8:00 in the east. thanks for joining us. syria remains a big question mark this morning. what can the u.s. do, what will it do and with the international community go along? after the chemical attack the president says was seyria's fault. remember the teenager brutal beat down on a bus, one question, what will their punishment be? the victim's grandmother is talking to us in an exclusive interview. a lot of questions about that sitation. we love the good stuff. a group of honest shoppers went shopping and realized it was not open. leaving money behind to make up for the mistake. we found them. we will have their story coming up in the good stuff. let's get to the looming decision on syria. president obama says he's looked

at all the evidence in that deadly chemical weapons attack and it points clearly to the assad regime. instead the white house will take its options and evidence to key members of congress today while the british government plans to go public with their own intelligence. we're covering all the angles this morning, beginning with cnn's barbara starr at the pentagon. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, kate. the obama administration is expected to make its evidence public in the coming hours. the big question, however, will they be able to pin this attack directly on bashar al assad. president obama says he hasn't decided what to do, but is determined to hold syria accountable. >> we want the assad regime to understand that by using chemical weapons on a large scale against your own people, against women, against infants, against children, that you are

not only breaking international norms and standards of decency, but you're also creating a situation where u.s. national interests are affected. that needs to stop. >> reporter: in an interview with the pbs news hour, the president left no doubt who the u.s. believes ordered the chemical weapons attacks. >> we have concluded that the syrian government, in fact, carried these out. >> reporter: among the evidence syrian commanders discussing the movement of chemical weapons to the area of the attack, provided by israeli intelligence. the potential next step, cruise missile strikes has put the u.s. at direct odds with russia. >> we do not believe that the syrian regime should be able to hide behind the fact that the russians continue to block action on syria at the u.n. >> reporter: the u.s. may not wait for the united nations to act. the u.s. military is strengthening its position in

the eastern mediterranean with the addition of two more submarines and the syrian regime is also getting ready. >> we are in a state of war right now preparing ourselves for the worst scenario. >> so, why did the syrians do this? why undertake this devastating attack? one theory being discussed, possible retaliation for a failed assassination attempt against assad earlier this month. or possibly they were planning a smaller chemical attack and something got out of hand. chris? >> all right, barbara, now speculation from the ap reporting maybe it wasn't assad specifically or the regime. maybe it was an out liar. a lot to be developed here. the british government said arn attack on syria would be justified on humanitarian grounds. assad saying syria will defend itself against any military intervention. let's go to beirut. that's where fred is and he was the only western television journalist in damascus and he

left just hours ago. fred, what's the latest? >> well, the latest is that the syrian military is getting ready or preparing for the usair strikes. they don't believe they can defend themselves against it. they are controlling some of the headquarter buildings that they have in damascus and the headquarters of the air force and possibly the headquarters of the army, as well. moving out a lot of the senior military personnel there. the other thing we're hearing from the ground, a lot of hardware being moved around. among them, also artillery canyons that are being used to shoot on the suburbs of damascus which is the rebel-controlled territory. clearly, also the government there fearing that air strikes could hit those assets, as well. meanwhile, chris, the weapon inspectors of the u.n. are on the ground, again. they are out in the damascus suburbs gathering new evidence in the eastern part of the

damascus suburbs. that is where there was the highest death toll. we managed to get exclusive video from that areas and shows horrific stuff like a mass grave and a lot of unidentified bodies that can't be buried because nobody can tell who these people actually are and also miraculous tales of escape. one man showed us a gas mask that he made out of coal and cotton. chris? >> i'll take it, fred. amazing what those people are going through and it is only going to get worse. fred pleitgan, thank you so much. some members of congress here at home are asking president obama to slow down. they need information, they say. they want to have their say in any u.s. military involvement. any u.s. military action. let's get more on this from cnn's aathena jones on capitol hill. good morning athena. >> good morning, kate. the chief concern here on capitol hill is that congress won't be sufficiently consulted before president obama orders

any sort of military action against syria. you have folks like republican senator john mccain who says they want to see a robust response to this chemical weapons attack and at the same time 116 members of congress, most of them republicans and also 16 democrats have now signed on tog the president to consult and receive authorization from congress before taking military action. that letter is in addition to a letter from house speaker john boehner calling on the president to personally make the case to the american people and to the congress for why military action in syria were served u.s. national security interests. now, there is some debate here on capitol hill about just what the president can do before consulting congress. some believe the war power's act allows the president to order limited missile strikes and then consult with congress or report to congress afterwards. nevertheless, the white house says the views of congress is important and the white house plans to brief congressional leadership, as well as the chairs and ranking members of national security committees

today via conference call. back to you, chris. >> no question that they're relevant and they might be required. we'll have to see how that situation goes down, especially with all the concerns about potential fallout. for instance, another front in the showdown with syria. cyberspace. experts say hackers loyal to the assad regime could launch more internet attacks like the ones that took down the "new york times" and the twitter websites this weekend. so, let's bring in cnn's deborah feyerick, she has more on that. what exactly happened. what do we know about the "times" hacking. >> this is like a digital theater of war. claiming responsibility for the attack, both simple and sophisticated. simple because this was a result of a targeted fishing attack. you know those e-mails we're told not to open because someone is trying to steal our personal information? the hacker was able to get a valid user name and password and log into a "new york times" account to block readers away from the website.

the hacker didn't hit "new york times" directly. they targeted the supply chains. specifically the domain name register. the company that operates the site told us the reason some people are now getting newyorktimes.com and others are not because it takes 48 hours to reach all internet users. also targeted "washington post" "ti "time" magazine, even cnn. they're going after the search engines and domain registrars and not the actual site, but all those ways that we get into those sites. kind of interesting. >> difficult on a technological perspective, also let you know, there is no easy answer here. you don't know what's going to happen because of what actions taken by the u.s. >> layers upon layers, upon layers. >> the ripple effect. let's turn to texas now where army major nidal hasan

admitted to being behind the massacre at ft. hood. now a military jury sentenced him to death. took the 13-member panel an hour to return that sentence, but not been a military execution in over 50 years. but many say this could be incase that changes that. cnn's ed lavandera is in texas following this court-martial from the very beginning. good morning, ed. >> good morning, kate. well, as this verdict approached, many families were struggling with what kind of verdict they wanted to see. they knew that nidal hasan wanted to get the death penalty and they struggled with whether they wanted this jury to give him what he wanted in the end. many families saying justice was served. sitting unphased as a military jury sentenced him to death. he might see the death penalty as a twisted path to martyrdom but he will never be a martyr because he has nuthing to give.

>> the best thing for that man is to be forgotten. >> a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. >> the mother and daughter sat through weeks of excruciating testimony. how kahill came within a few feet of stopping hasan with a chair. he was shot six times. the sixth shot fatally shot his neck. >> today's sentencing does not bring my father home. >> reporter: hasan soon transferred to ft. leavanworth, kansas. ultimately, the president must sign off on hasan's execution and that could take years. there hasn't been a military execution since 1961. but some legal experts say the brutality of hasan's crimes will change that. >> if it doesn't make sense to use it here, when does it? i think that president is going

to have a hard time not signing that death warrant in this case and i think major hasan may be the first military defendant in a long time to be put to death. >> and what struck me throughout all of this is that many of these families, these victims' families and survivors are now spread out across the country. they don't live here in the ft. hood area. all over the country. several family members say this court-martial proceeding was the first time that they had really gotten to spend time together and share their stories of anguish and all of the struggles they've been through trying to cope with all of this during the last four years. chris? >> all right, thank you, ed. we both remember how all those family husband to come in when this tragedy first happened. thank you for closing the circle for us. a stifling middle east heat wave is taking its toll on teachers and students. some schools are being forced to shut down because of the heat. indra petersons has all the

details. >> two things we're concerned with. one is how warm are these temperatures and secondly how long are they dealing with these heat. 15, 20 degrees above normal and on top of that, dealing with it all week long. it's been three days of near record breaking temperatures in parts of minnesota. the temperature refusing to dip below the 90, reaching a burning 92 degrees yesterday, but feeling like it's past the 100 degree mark. now some schools are being closed for the rest of the week. >> oh, my gosh, friday is canceled, too? >> reporter: it's just too hot and these schools don't have any air conditioning. >> the best thing to do and safest thing to do is to stop school for two days. >> reporter: these temperatures just aren't affecting minnesota. a giant heat dome over the middle east keeping that hot air locked in. take a look at these temperatures right now. 15 to 20 degrees above normal across the area.

the big question everyone is saying, when will we see relief? you can still we still have some time to go. the record in des moines, just 99. by tomorrow they're expected to warm even further and break that record. so, again, when are we finally going to see this relief? we do have an answer for you. we are seeing a system move through today. more importantly, behind it, here comes the relief. saturday, still looks hot. des moines still at 97. notice minneapolis still in the 90s. eventually those 70s and 80s come your way by sunday. at least in time for labor day weekend. >> hold on for a little bit longer. thanks, indra. a lot of news developing at this hour. let's get to mu kaichaela for t latest. giant fire near yosemite national park. containment now up to 30%. they believe the fire is slowing down, but still threatens thousands of homes.

so far, that fire has burned more than 300 square miles. a 10-year-old girl, an amish girl with luchemoia but she'll die without it and they fought to continue those treatments. the family might take their case to the ohio supreme court. the pennsylvania police chief who got himself in hot water and suspended after posting a profanity-laced video rant that featured him firing off his gun. he's back at it. mark kessler got out the camera, once again, started shooting videos and guns just days before his 30-day suspension is set to end. on his latest youtube video he took aim at a target that he calls eric, that happens to be the first name of a bureau councilman who wants him fired. not hard to guess why this painting of vladimir putin was

released. the prime minister both depicted, cross dressing crosses some kind of line. the artist has painted a series lampooning leaders for anti-gay policies. he has now pled the country to avoid prosecution. you know, they say if you blow on a dandelion your wish may come true. this baby girl getting her first chance. doesn't work the first time, digging the shade. she just ate it but then not hap happy. >> i respect that he ate it. is that a dandelion? i thought it was one of those that you blow off. >> dandelions start off yellow and then turn that way when it goes to seed. >> those are dandelions? i did not know that. >> are we live right now?

>> 43 years old. i had no idea. that's the same flower. the dandelion becomes that. >> it goes to seed and then propagates or goes right into your mouth. >> did you know that he didn't know this? >> of all the things that you need to know, it's not one of them. >> but i lived in complete denial thinking they were two different flowers. that little child knew better than i. i will eat a field of dandelions. >> no, that should not be your take away. should not be the take away. >> i did not know that. >> i love you, you're so funny. i need to google this whole dandelion thing. >> are you going to co-conspiracy on the dandelion. anyway, george zimmerman's wife is breaking her silence. she's talking about her problems with her husband and what his acquittal in the killing of trayvon martin has done to their marriage. why she fears for her life. we'll tell you all of it.

the three teenagers charged in the brutal beating of a classmate, they'll face a juvenile court judge today. ahead, an exclusive interview with the victim's grandmother. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you. (woman) that was fun. (man) yeah. (man) let me help you out with the.. (woman)...oh no, i got it. (man) you sure? (woman) just pop the trunk. (man vo) i may not know where the road will lead, but... i'm sure my subaru will get me there. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

this morning we're finally hearing from the woman who lied for george zimmerman. it's his wife, shellie. she pled guilty yesterday to a perjury charge for lying in court about how much money was donated for her husband's defense. strains in her marriage and her life now after the trial that captivated the nation. jeffrey toobin is cnn's senior legal analyst joins us now. interesting to hear from this woman, why? >> good question. no --

>> from a legal perspective. >> what was odd about this situation is that she got caught up in the whole matter because when he was about to be released on bail, she was asked about his assets and they had actually conspired with each other to cover up the fact that he had about $100,000 in contributions, which they put into family bank accounts and she denied he had any money to the judge. >> perjury prosecutions happen, not all the time. this was a little bit of them being strict, but the sentence balanced it out because she didn't get charged with a felony, went to a misdemeanor and she hasn't been hit with a punishment. >> she's not going to have a prison time and she doesn't have a criminal judge. you can't go in and lie to a judge, completely. no doubt this was a complete lie. >> here's the good stuff. a lot of intrigue about who this man was and what his life was like. let's play sound from the interview. this is her talking about the

future with her husband. >> did you want him to be in court to support you? >> i always want my husband's support. >> are you together? >> i'm not going to answer that. of course, i want to have children and stay married. >> with george? >> that's something i'm going to have to think about. >> you don't have to be a legal analyst to know, mr. toobin, somebody asks you about your marriage and you don't want to talk about it. not good, fair point? >> fair point. everyone involved in these huge public controversies has strains in their life and, obviously, the zimmermans do, too. my reaction to hearing that, compared to what the martin family went through, this, it's pretty small potatoes. >> also, i want to play some more sound for you that gives context to why shellie zimmerman feels the way she does and her thoughts about the martin family. take a listen. >> we have been pretty much gypsies for pretty much the last year and a half. we lived in a 20-foot trailer in

the woods. scared every night that someone was going to find us and that it would be horrific. >> and as for trayvon martin's parents and how she feels. do we have that sound ready? no. okay, i'll read it to you. trayvon's parents, i'm so deeply sorry for their loss. i can't even understand the grief that a parent faces. so, she does have the empathy for the martin family. that's somewhat important. >> yeah. you know, she is -- george zimmerman, you know, he won this case. so, i guess i just don't have the sympathy i probably should for the whole zimmerman clan. here you have a woman who lied in a bail application, george zimmerman who killed trayvon martin. was acquitted and that was certainly an understandable verdict, but, you know, in the rank of sympathy in the world, i have to say, mine is very much with the martin family.

>> of course, because they lost a loved one. however, jeffrey, why not give a little bit of credence to the idea that if you felt you didn't do anything wrong, that somebody was trying to kill you, you did what you had to do. it's recognized by the law. you then got called every type of horrible name in existence and the law wound up finding you justified. well, why wouldn't you be somewhat sympathetic? >> well, because i'm just -- i guess because you're a better person than i am. >> it's not about my opinion. >> she worked with the zimmerman family, especially george worked within the system. he showed up for trial, he had a lawyer, he got acquitted. and undoubtedly, that put a tremendous amount of strain and tremendous public criticism of them, too. i guess i just weighing the equities here and weighing where you're going to spend the limited amount of sympathy you have in your life, they don't get a lot of mine. but, you know, look, no one

should harass them and no one should bother them and they should live a peaceful life. >> but they will. and the stain is always there and this is proof of it. even his own wife. this has, obviously, put strains on their relationships george zimmerman will have going forward. >> this, one this intense has innocent or semi innocent bystanders and, surely, she's one of them. >> appreciate the perspective. mr. jeffrey toobin, as always. kate, over to you. coming up next on "new day" we're hearing for the first time from the 6-year-old boy who was pulled from a sink hole in an indiana sand dune. he's saying thank you to the rescuers who saved his life. you do not want to miss that. then there's this. the last time we heard from actress valley harper, she was announcing she had terminal brain cancer. but this beloved actress is now said to be to be making plans to be back on tv. we'll tell you her newest project, coming up.

you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day." coming up this half hour, those three teens charged with the horrific beating of a classmate onboard a school bus will go before a judge today and you'll hear what the family of the victims want to see happen. his family speaking exclusively to cnn. >> a lot of stories surrounding that story. plus, actress valley harper defying the odds. the 74-year-old was recently diagnosed with terminal brain

cancer but now rumored to be joining the cast of "dancing with the stars." her inspiring story ahead. let's get right to mu kale waw the five things you need to know for your "new day." >> the british government now agreeing with the president that syria likely did use chemical weapons on its own people and, in fact, has used them 14 times since 2012. we're seeing the first pictures of syrian president assad since the attack. vowed to block any action against his country. california's rim fire still growing now in its 13th day the fire burned through more than 193 acres in and around the national park of yosemite. firefighters report 30% containment. thousands of fast food workers nationwide walking out for higher wages. the industry says it pays above minimum wage and gives workers valuable skills. the midwest is meting. massive heat wave forcing schools to close in minnesota. the blistering temperatures not expected to let up until next week. at number five, two-time

open champ venus williams is out of this year's tournament. third year in a row that venus has lost in the second round at flushing meadows. always updating the five things to know, go to cnnnewday.com for the very latest. guys? now to a disturbing case working its way through florida's justice system. three 15-year-old boys beating and stomping a younger kid on a school bus just last month. the bus driver too afraid to intervene. the older boys are in court today to face battery charges. authorities have recommended probation. that's where we pick up the story. pamela brown is in florida covering try for us. good morning, pamela. >> good morning to you, chris. i spoke with the grandmother of the 13-year-old victim, she is the legal guardian and she's still very shaken up from this incident that happened last month. she says that her grandson is still on the mend from a broken hand, but that his emotional wounds will take much longer to heal. she says she wants to see justice served on the three teens appearing in court today.

>> to know that he had to go through that. >> reporter: patricia yankee still gets choked up as she talked about what happened in this video. showing three florida teens brutally beating up her grandson on the school bus. >> to hear him saying stop, stop, it breaks my heart. >> reporter: the image of him right after the attack still very vivid in her mind. >> he had bruises on his face and his whole body was bruised. it was horrible. >> reporter: police say the victim told a school employee the teens had tried to sell him drugs. later that day, his grandmother says they relentlessly taunted him on the bus before attacking him. >> leave him alone! >> reporter: she questions why the bus driver who called for help chose not to intervene. something he was not required to do under school policy. >> i would have been in the middle of it. no matter what policy said.

but that's me. i can't stand by and watch somebody get hurt. i just couldn't do it. >> reporter: so he should have stepped in and helped your grandson. >> i feel he should have. >> reporter: still, she puts the blame squarely on the three defendants who were charged as juveniles with aggravated battery. a father of one of the defendants offered an apology. >> i would just like to apologize to the young man and his family. you know, from my heart for my son because i didn't raise him like that. >> reporter: he says his son is not a criminal. >> in a bad mix, maybe. but i understand what he did is really not what defines him as a child. he's not a criminal. >> reporter: she says she hopes the teens have learned their les

lesson. >> those children have to realize they could be up on other charges right now. they could have killed him. >> we have learned the victim is now attending another school. she says that on the first day of school he wanted to take the bus. he went there to the bus stop and he's just too afraid to take the bus and walked back to her and asked her to drive him to school. so, clearly, still a lot of healing to do. meantime, as for those three teens appearing in court at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. a judge will be considering what their punishment should be. at this point, there is a recommendation of supervised probation. that means several services such as anger management, curfew, they could have a juvenile record. a judge is considering that today. they are first-time offenders so the punishment may not be as severe as it could be, but still some unanswered questions. we have been reaching out to the school district and waiting to hear back. kate? >> all right, thank you so much, pamela. we'll talk to you soon. thank you so much for that story. now, you remember that 6-year-old little boy that was rescued after falling into a sinkhole and stuck there for

hours while visiting an indiana sand dune. now nathan and his family are saying thank you to the rescuers who saved his life. for more, live to george howell in our chicago bureau. good morning, george. >> kate, good morning. so, here's the thing, nathan does not remember a lot of what happened that day. but he does know, no doubt, that a lot of people do care about him from the governor of indiana to the first responders that jumped in to save his life. >> all those people clapping for you, that was pretty cool. >> reporter: when you consider exactly what nathan woessner went through, you understand why this moment was so important. >> this was everyone's miracle. >> reporter: finally, meeting face-to-face. the men and women who searched tirelessly and saved him trapped beneath 11 feet of sand. >> we will always be so grateful for what you did and you will always be our heroes.

>> reporter: his mother calls it simply, a miracle. >> i believe that god did hold him. i believe he was right here, you know, in god's hands and that god's hands held him and gave him the air and comforted him. ultimately kept him safe until they found him. >> reporter: the dramatic rescue played out july 12th at the indiana dunes national lake shore. >> 911. >> we have a kid that fell in the hole on mt. baldy. >> we have everybody on the way. >> reporter: nathan stepped on to a sink hole at the top of a sand dune known as mt. baldy. officer greg rattiger was the first to arrive. >> one step forward and ten steps back with the sand. >> reporter: about three hours later, they finally found him.

>> there was one point where people thought that he was dead. >> i was one of them. when we pulled young nathan out of the hole, it was a limp body. an hour later my friend called me and said, he's in the hospital, he's alive. i had no idea. it's amazing. a blessing from god. >> reporter: a lot to take in for this sometimes shy 6-year-old. >> you like being a superstar? >> yeah. why? >> because i get presents. >> reporter: even his parents have trouble finding the right words. >> i don't know that we could ever express what feelings or emotions and the love we have for everyone that was there, had a role to play in this because, thank you just doesn't seem like enough. >> so, here's the good news. after weeks of rehabilitation and recovery, nathan is back. 100%, his parents say.

back healthy, happy and a little shy on camera, but definitely happy to be back with his parents and back in school. kate and chris. >> george, thank you so much. it's amazing that he survived being stuck in 11 feet of sand and that there's no, he recovered fully. 100% recovery. just astounding. >> i get what the parents say. we've all been in that situation where thank you doesn't seem sufficient. you want to find a better word than just thank you, but that is all there is in our english language. they just gave them their son back. >> i've never been in any kind of situation like this. you know that wasn't supposed to happ happen. not the kid falling in the sink hole, that is life. but you don't make it out of those situations. it has to be hard as a parent to figure out what this means. >> you'll always look for meaning. >> you shouldn't have your kid any more. that is what all the statistics and probabilities tell you. how long you can go without

oxygen and has to just really, at the same time, a blessing and a burdening of figuring it out. reminds me of the story of the guy that lived for 45 minutes after his heart stopped. a lot of people lean on their faith of an explanation of what is bigger than us that we don't get. the parents have to think, why is this boy still here? what does this mean about him? really intriguing questions. >> why are you guys focusing on me so much? >> he's special. he's got to be. great story to get an update on. everybody, guess what it's time for? the better stuff. it's gooder than good. an update to a good stuff we brought you earlier. remember the guys in new jersey that thought a local store was open. they went shopping anyway and instead of walking out with the stuff. when you're that good, we have

to find you. four football players from nearby paterson university. take a listen. >> this is still shocking. still speechless right now. >> we didn't see anybody at the cash register and we're walking around, like, hello, hello, anybody here? nobody answered. >> i want to say that these guys are awesome. >> not just because of those cool hair dos. that's marcie letterman of small lots. she gave the guy $50 gift certificates for their honesty. the guys say there's an important lesson here. >> all people aren't thieves. you can't judge people on the way you look. >> exactly. >> very nice. judging by what they do. you know what they did, the right thing. hope f hope they have a great season. >> those kids were savvy. they knew to have the evidence and wave it in front of the camera. they figured somebody has to be watching.

the camera would be rolling. >> i love they caught up with them in the football pads. >> right after practice. >> we got to go. >> i love that you found gooder stuff. gooder than good. >> you keep setting the bar pretty high there, chris. >> i'm not setting the bar, you are. keep bringing us the stories and we'll tell you the good news. you can tweet us, facebook, or go to our website. but, please, keep bringing us the stories. coming up next on "new day" defying the odds and a terminal cancer diagnosis. actress valerie harper now ready to dance her way into your heart. plus, a dream come true from old school video gamers. mario and luigi. real life, running amuck. i knew it was real. the "new day" award of the day. that's j.b. right there. that's j.b. as luigi.

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welcome back to "new day." a sad day when we last heard from beloved sit com and broadway star valerie harper. she is suffering from terminal brain cancer and she wanted all her friends and fans to know what she was going through. but, now, harper is going back to work in a very big way, it appears. nischelle turner has more on what valerie harper's new gig can be. >> since her diagnosis we've seen her kind of embrace life in this grand way. she's still acting and talking openly about her cancer and now there's a possibility of her taking on this physical task that would be yet another obstacle she's overcoming. we all remember her as rhoda on

"the mary tyler moore show." emmy award winning actress valerie harper revealed to the world in march that she is suffering from terminal brain cancer. >> at first i thought, oh, three months to live. >> reporter: harper defied those odds, still going strong and taking on a new challenge. ♪ celebrity news website tmz is reporting that harper will be hitting the ballroom floor in the upcoming season of "dancing with the stars." the pic stunning many because of harper's incurable form of cancer she discussed on piers morgan. >> a lot can happen if the capser starts getting really aggressive. pressing on parts of the brain. >> reporter: doctors gave her until june to live but she has far surpassed that. >> i just, i just want folks to see me that i'm okay, that i'm not suffering, so far. ask there may be pain and a lot of things ahead. but whatever they are, they're ahead. >> reporter: at a recent press

event for the sitcom "hot in cleveland" harper addressed her prognosis. >> no doctor in the world can say this is your three months, six months. i can say that is what our experience is, but every case is different. >> reporter: her commitment to the physically demanding reality show could have the 74-year-old on the dancing floor for weeks if america votes her through to the finale. harper's outlook on life and determination, nothing short of remarkable. >> death is out there for all of us and that there are other ways to handle it than just sit on the couch and accept. >> those are words to live by. now, representatives for the show say they do not comment on cast speculation and we also reached out to valley harper's representatives but have not heard back this morning. the formal cast announcement will be september 4th. >> let's take the conversation a step further. here to weigh in is dr. jennifer, a family physician and joins us here in studio. can we talk about her actual diagnosis. this is brain cancer, but a very

rare form of it. can you explain it to us. >> it is a long word, you're absolutely right. this is a very rare form of brain cancer and we often think of this a metassis cancer which means brain cells traveled from another part of the body to the brain. but the unique thing about this type of brain cancer of where it is in the brain. >> it's not a tumor. >> it's not a tumor. it's not a solid mass that we can see. on the outside of the brain is something called the meninges like a coating or a sac. this is where the cancer has gone and spread to the outing coating of the brain and the spinal cord. that is what makes it rare, makes it hard to treat and often gives it a poor prognosis, as well. >> when you take all of that into account. when she made the announcement in march. three months is what the doctors have given her in terms of her time frame. now nearly six months. does that surprise you? >> i'll tell you, this cancer

really a does have a poor prognosis. we're talking in the medical literature weeks to months. i don't personally treat valerie harper, but a lot of factors that go into a patient's overall prognosis. we do our best to tell a patient what we think they should expect. we don't determine what that is. maybe a few things that go into that. for example, a patient's underlying health. how healthy they were when d diagnosed and mind over matter and the body and spirit, that makes a big difference, as well. >> if there is a risk to her if she is in "dancing with the stars." >> it is a very active show and it's really important for everyone to sort of be careful. but especially with her, yes. should there be precautions taken? absolutely. i'm trusting if this is something she's considering, she is absolutely talking with her doctors what is reasonable and what really makes sense. >> can you talk about treatment?

how would they treat cancer like this? >> there is a couple different ways. there are pills and sometimes surgery, but probably one of the best known and one of the better treatments is chemotherapy. we have a concept of what that is. remember the cancer is in the sac around the brain. not a solid mass in the brain. you can't just poke it out or pluck it out. what you need to do is get that chemotherapy in the cerebral spinal fluid so it can travel through to the brain and that can pose risks in and of itself. it is what makes this treatment very complicated and, once again, does have a poor prognosis. >> this has been really interesting and helpful. thank you for explaining this. makes it -- >> makes even more amazing that she is doing so well. >> we appreciate it. we'll take a break here on "new day." when we come back, they brought super mario brothers to life on youtube. these guys have earned j.b.'s

new day award of the day. we'll show you why.

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>> forget them. what have you got, j.b.? >> normally these awards have deep social significance and expand your horizon, but today it's just plain cool, especially if you like video games. look at this, check this out. what is this? a real-life super mario brothers. unbelievable. it's got graphics, sure, just like the video game. what makes this simply awesome, the ridiculous free running skills. look at these guys for a while. look at this. i mean, that's completely insane. in the real video game, look at that. mario and luigi were never this nimable in the video game. these guys are better than the real thing. the guys doing this they're actually youtube stars already. they do all kind of stunts like this. as cuomo was saying, this discipline that you see like

things in james bond movies and awesomeness for hours and hours and hours and it definitely deserves an award. the award these gentlemen win is i pulled my groin just by watching award. >> i wonder how long it took to put together. >> what amazing athletes. >> they're so strong and, you know, they're also very, skilled. >> we didn't even talk about -- >> weren't they a little chubby? >> little bit. depends on the resolution of your screen. that's also very cool. >> big boned. >> is that what we say? all right, john, thanks so much. we'll see you later, buddy. we'll be right back. ] i hate thn we're always stopping is because i have to go to the bathroom. and when we're sitting in traffic, i worry i'll have an accident.

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"new day" is done but the good news is cnn's "newsroom" with carol costello is only beginning. >> i love that. thank you very much. you made my day. have a great day. "newsroom" starts now. happening now in "newsroom" crisis in syria. president obama steadfast. >> the syrian government, in fact, carried these out. there needs to be international consequences. >> as the drums of war grow louder meeting criticism. >> i don't want to see boots on the ground or us mired in a conflict. >> ahead a former weapons inspector joins